Page 16 of Drawn to You
“Yeah, she was, but she got an emergency,” I tell him about Dana’s phone call.
“I see,” Connor says with a sigh. “She’s taking the clinic seriously. Would you thank her for me?”
“Sure, but why can’t you thank her yourself?”
“I… I don’t know,” he stammers. “I haven’t spoken to her for a while, many years. It would be weird if I called her out of the blue.”
I think for a moment. “Probably, but it wouldn’t hurt to do it. She might be thrilled.”
He considers for a moment and then shakes his head. “Nah. I’ll speak to my old man and ask him to give her a raise.”
“That’ll be nice, too,” I say, not wanting to push him too far. “When was the last time you went home to Clover Valley?”
“Jeez. Christmas, I think? I stayed for only a day.”
“Don’t you miss home?” I ask. “I miss it so much after leaving it for just two weeks.”
“You’ll get used to it,” he says with a shrug.
He’s going to say more, but Helen gestures him to her. The woman looks jealous.
Connor excuses himself and goes to the woman, who takes his arm possessively and drags him into the rose garden. “I was just thinking that these roses would look good in your garden, honey.”
Again, I don’t understand why Connor is with her at all. Whenever Helen leans over to kiss him, he seems to respond with little enthusiasm. Could they be friends with benefits besides business partners? But Dana believes they’re in a romantic relationship, and I have no idea it’s true or not.
Andrew, on the other hand, is having a good time. He has his arm around Melissa’s shoulders most of the time, while she constantly wraps her arm around him and kisses his cheek. Finally, I decide I’ve seen enough. It’s about six. I sneak back into my room to call my family, and then I watch a smokey eye tutorial on YouTube. Maybe if I spent some time to hone my makeup skills, I could look as beautiful as Melissa.
I doze off and wake when it’s dark outside. I hear people’s chattering and laughter. I rub my eyes and go out. Connor and Helen are gone, so are Andrew’s business associates. Melissa is sitting on the chaise, speaking to someone over the phone about some photoshoot.
Andrew is cleaning the tables and putting the trash into a bag. I go out quickly to help him out.
After we’re done with cleaning, he says to me, “I’m going to take Melissa to her hotel. Leave the griller. I’ll take care of it tomorrow.”
I have the urge to ask when he’ll be back or whether he’ll be home tonight, but I don’t. “Okay,” I say and return to work.
But as soon as they’re out of the house, I can’t stop my tears streaming down my cheeks.
He’s not just giving her a ride; they’re going to have sex. I know it. He’s probably not going to come home either.He’ll spend the night in her bed.I think as I clean the griller, disregarding his instructions.
Stop it. I scold myself. What do you expect? Andrew is hot, but he isn’t yours. He’ll never be yours. Just because you’re staying in his house, just because he kissed you once on impulse, doesn’t mean you’ve got a chance. I’ve witnessed Andrew being with plenty of girls in the past, and I haven’t been so jealous, but this time it’s hard for me to put off the fire because our last kiss. It’s messed me up big time.
After I’m done with the griller, I wipe my tears and plop down on a patio chair. I sniffle as I stare at the night view below. Suddenly a light shoots across the sky, followed by a loud boom. Firework! I forget my vexation right away and smile at the gorgeous sight.
And then I have an idea. I’m going to enjoy the night in the hot tub. I used it once last week when Andrew wasn’t in the house, and I liked it. I run to my room quickly to look for my bikini. For a second, I think I should just get in the tub naked, but modesty holds me back. It’s not my house, after all.
Chapter 8
Andrew
“Are you going to come up?” Melissa asks when I drop her off in front of the Marriot on Beverly Dr.
“I’m sorry, I’ve got to take care of something in the gym,” I lie.
She pouts, running her hand over my bicep. “What’s so urgent? Come on. Let’s have a little drink. I haven’t seen you for months, Andrew.”
I want to remind her we’ve just spent hours together in my house, but then, she’s my and Connor’s business associate. I have to credit her ads for the success of my business, even though she isn’t irreplaceable. I invited her to my house, and she accepted the invitation. It’s only natural for me to at least agree to her request. I should do it just for the sake of the business.
So I shrug and turn off the ignition. “I guess a drink wouldn’t hurt.”
